Catalog operations

Below is information for suppliers who provide catalogs to the IBM Global Catalog Facility (GCF). The attached Supplier Guide to IBM Catalog Operations provides the operational guidelines and content quality requirements for creating and maintaining catalogs within GCF, including environmental and packaging requirements. The guide is available in multiple languages. In addition to the guide, other instructional material is provided in the form of videos, presentations, FAQs, and white paper overviews. This document also addresses the supplier's roles and responsibilities, accessibility guidelines for suppliers, and provides a download link for the most current template for building a standard GCF catalog.

Table of contents

Overview

IBM General Procurement is committed to lowering costs of procurement by creating and utilizing highly automated supply-chain systems worldwide. As a result, IBM has strategically created an environment of cooperation with our suppliers by having them send offerings to our internal procurement system for hands-free procurement of products and services. IBM General Procurement’s requisitioning and catalog systems include a function for loading, managing, categorizing, and controlling access to offerings supplied from external or internal sources. The goal of this process is to simplify catalog management via cost effective processes and solutions for current and future suppliers while allowing them to utilize their existing product catalog delivery systems for transmitting those offerings to IBM. To support this strategy, we are launching our IBM Global Catalog Facility (GCF).

The GCF supports the General Procurement catalog operations strategies intended to provide IBM with a state-of-the-art catalog solution for indirect purchasing in support of all teams requiring catalog functionality. The GCF is a Procurement transformation project that is partnered with the Procurement Operations Catalog Quality Initiative. Together these efforts will help continue IBM Procurement's world-class supply chain leadership while ensuring suppliers optimally participate in the provision of their products and services via the world's most cost effective and robust on-line marketplace.

Role and responsibilities for catalog suppliers

IBM suppliers providing catalogs for procurement of goods and services are required to comply with the process guidelines, management systems, and content quality expectations defined by the documents posted on this Web page. Provision of the catalogs require a commitment to thorough quality content for all products and services. For an overview of catalog supplier responsibilities, please review the following document:

Catalog content template

The spreadsheet template below is to be utilized by suppliers to upload their content to IBM's Global Catalog Facility (GCF). The file contains multiple tabs for input of details. While the first tab contains instructions for completing the template, important details regarding IBM's expectations of content quality are discussed within the remainder of this document and within the Supplier Guide to IBM Catalog Operations provided in the section below. Suppliers are expected to provide detailed information regarding every product or service included in their catalogs. Content quality is a primary objective of our Catalog Operations team. The GCF will monitor the quality of content provided and result in an evaluation that will be reported to the IBM Supplier Management team and the assigned IBM relationship managers.

Guide to IBM catalog operations

The following document outlines content quality requirements and provides process documentation for various catalog features. All content is required to be compliant with content management rules, guidelines, and expected details.